Obesity rates are rising worldwide. Acute pancreatitis is also on the rise. The authors of the current study followed prospectively about 120,000 individuals. As expected, they found a high correlation between BMI and acute pancreatitis events. Investigators also observed that hypertriglyceridemia could explain about 22-30% of the relationship between obesity and pancreatitis.
The results of the study, although not new, confirm prior research and knowledge that obesity leads to insulin resistance, which in turn elevates blood triglyceride concentration. Hypertriglyceridemia is a well-known specific cause of acute pancreatitis, especially when triglyceride measurements are above 500 mg/dL.
Clinically, it is essential to screen obesity patients for hypertriglyceridemia. A fasting lipid panel is a simple and inexpensive laboratory test that can provide significant insights into the patient’s risk of insulin resistance and pancreatitis.
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